Category: Minnesota Vikings

Vikings DE Danielle Hunter becomes youngest player to record 50 sacks

What a career it has already been for Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter.

What a career it has already been for Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter.

After recording three sacks on Sunday against the Lions, Hunter now has 52.5 in his NFL career at only 25 years old. Hunter became the youngest player in NFL history to hit that mark.

On the season, Hunter now has 12.5 sacks, just two away from tying his career-high mark of 14.5 last season. It seems pretty likely he’ll get that with three games left on the schedule.

The fact that the Vikings were able to get Hunter in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft is remarkable. His 52.5 sacks are 12.5 more than any other player in that draft class.

At some point, we’ll have to start talking about Hunter potentially becoming one of the greatest pass rushers of all-time if he can continue this pace.

Vikings fans should feel great about the fact that Minnesota will have Hunter for the foreseeable future. Hunter is in the first year of a five-year, $72 million deal (which seems like a bargain, by the way). He’ll be with the Vikings through the 2023 season when he’ll be just 28 years old.

Vikings take care of business, beat Lions 20-7

It won’t go down as the ‘win of the year’ and nothing particularly great happened, but that’s OK.

It won’t go down as the ‘win of the year’ and nothing particularly great happened, but that’s OK. The Vikings beat the Lions 20-7 in Week 14 at U.S. Bank Stadium, improving to 9-4 on the season.

With the Packers beating the Redskins 20-15, the Vikings are still a game back in the NFC North, but they did extend their lead to 1.5 games as the second wild card team.

The star of the game for Minnesota was its pass rush. Danielle Hunter had three sacks, and Everson Griffen and Jaleel Johnson had one each. Lions rookie quarterback David Blough never looked comfortable and both Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo came away with interceptions in the game.

Kirk Cousins completed 24 of 30 passes, throwing for 242 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison combined for 108 rushing yards and a touchdown. Stefon Diggs led the receivers with six catches for 92 yards.

Overall, a much-needed win from the Vikings. With the victory, FiveThirtyEight gives the Vikings an 82 percent chance to make the postseason.

Their next test will be next week in Los Angeles against the Chargers.

Former Vikings K Jan Stenerud named to NFL’s All-Time Team

He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1984, hitting on a league-leading 87 percent of his field goals.

Kicker Jan Stenerud, who is mostly known for his time kicking for the Chiefs, made NFL’s All-Time team it was announced last week.

Stenerud also played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1984-85, the last two seasons of his career. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1984, hitting on a league-leading 87 percent of his field goals.

The Vikings also have former defensive linemen John Randle and Alan Page who have made the team. The team has been put together to celebrate the league’s 100 years.

Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph has been a TD machine lately

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph might not be in as much of a pass-catching role as he was in the past, but the’s still finding the end zone.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph might not be in as much of a pass-catching role as he was in the past, but the’s still finding the end zone.

In 2019, Rudolph has 33 catches for just 301 yards. With that, though, Rudolph has already caught six touchdowns, up two from last season. He’s caught all six touchdowns in the last six weeks and has five in the last four weeks, including a two touchdown performance against the Cowboys in Week 10.

It is pretty remarkable that Rudolph has been able to find the end zone as much as he has in his career. His 47 receiving touchdowns rank fifth in team history, just three behind Sammy White for fourth place.

Rudolph will have his next chance to find the end zone on Sunday against the Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. In 15 career games against the Lions, Rudolph has 61 catches for 617 yards and nine touchdowns.

99% of experts have Vikings beating Lions in Week 14

The Vikings go into the game with an 8-4 record while the Lions are 3-8-1 overall.

The Vikings are big Las Vegas favorites against the Lions in Week 14 of the NFL season.

And with that, 99 percent of NFL experts are picking the Vikings to beat the Lions per NFLPickWatch.com.

The Vikings go into the game with an 8-4 record while the Lions are 3-8-1 overall. The game will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium, which is a huge plus for the Vikings. Minnesota has everything to play for as the Vikings find themselves in the middle of the NFL playoff battle. The Lions, meanwhile, are playing for nothing and are starting their third-string quarterback.

We’ve seen crazier things in the NFL, however.

Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.

Previewing Vikings vs. Lions Week 14

The Vikings and Lions face off in a battle that could go a long way for Minnesota in its bid for the playoffs.

Lions (3-8-1) at Vikings (8-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Bank Stadium

Lions’ keys to victory: Play better late in games. This is a team that is better than its record indicates. All but one of the Lions’ losses have come by less than eight points, and that was back on Oct. 20 against the Vikings when Minnesota won 42-30. There is plenty of talent on this Lions team, especially at WR with Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. The Vikings’ secondary has been suspect, so there’s an opportunity here for Detroit to find big plays. Of course, Lions fans would feel better about all of this if Matthew Stafford were healthy. 

Vikings’ keys to victory: Don’t lose focus in preparation. The Vikings had a huge Monday Night Football game against the Seahawks and have upcoming games against the Chargers, Packers and Bears. This game doesn’t look particularly sexy on paper, but as you’ve heard a time or two before, games are not played on paper. The Vikings nearly fell into a trap facing off against the Broncos in Week 11 before their bye week. The Lions are eliminated from the playoff hunt and have nothing to play for. Sometimes, though, those are the most dangerous teams. It will be up to QB Kirk Cousins to get the Vikings offense rolling early. 

Matchup to watch: Lions QB vs. Vikings pass rush. Lions third-string QB David Blough will have his hands full with a talented Vikings pass rush. Danielle Hunter is having another strong season. Everson Griffen is back on track after a rocky 2018. Even Anthony Barr gets in the mix sometimes. I would expect Vikings coach Mike Zimmer to throw a lot (look for some safety blitzes via Harrison Smith) at a quarterback who was better than many people thought on Thanksgiving against the Bears. 

Who wins? The NFC playoff picture changes week to week, and that just shows you how competitive this all is. The Vikings should come out thinking of this as a must-win game for not only playoff position, but for a potential NFC North championship. Vikings 29, Lions 13

Remember when Marvin Jones Jr. scored 4 TDs against the Vikings?

Jones has nine touchdowns this season and had just five in 2018, to put that into perspective.

The Vikings host the Lions in Week 14 of the season at U.S. Bank on Sunday.

While Minnesota did beat Detroit 42-30 back on Oct. 20, it wasn’t the best performance from the Vikings’ pass defense.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for nearly 400 yards, and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. had himself a day, catching 10 passes for 93 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones has nine touchdowns this season and had just five in 2018, to put that into perspective.

While Stafford won’t be playing quarterback for the Lions on Sunday (they’ll have David Blough start), the wide receiver unit is nothing to take lightly, especially with how bad Minnesota’s secondary has been this season.

Jones has 59 catches for 741 yards and a league-leading nine touchdowns. And then there’s Kenny Golladay, who has 47 catches, 950 yards and also nine touchdowns.

The Vikings very badly need to win this game, and they should. However, if the Lions pull off an upset, it will likely be because of Jones and Golladay exposing Minnesota’s secondary.

Lions injury report vs. Vikings in Week 14

We’ll know whether these players are active or not 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday. 

The Vikings will likely be without wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) for Sunday’s contest against the Lions.

You can read the Vikings injury report here.

As for the Lions, listed as out is quarterback Matthew Stafford (back) and defensive lineman Da’Shawn hand (ankle).

Defensive end Austin Bryant (hip) is listed as doubtful.

Cornerback Jamal Agnew (ankle) and cornerback Rashaan Melvin (ribs) are listed as questionable.

As with any team in Week 14, the Lions aren’t exactly a healthy bunch.

We’ll know whether these players are active or not 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday.

Vikings WR Adam Thielen listed as doubtful vs. Lions

It looks like Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) will miss yet another game on Sunday against the Lions.

It looks like Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) will miss yet another game on Sunday against the Lions.

Thielen is officially listed as quesitonable for the game. He first injured his hamstring back in Week 7 against the Lions on a touchdown catch. Since, he’s only tried to play in one game (Week 9 against the Chiefs), but ended up making the injury worse.

We’ll see more Bisi Johnson in his place.

Starting left tackle Riley Reiff (concussion) is listed as questionable. If Reiff can’t play, we’ll see Rashod Hill take his place.

The good news for Vikings fans is that running back Dalvin Cook (chest) is not on the injury report after what seemed like a nasty injury againts the Seahawks.

We’ll see if Thielen or Reiff are active 90 minutes before Sunday’s game.